Nothing ruins an intimate evening with your partner like abdominal pain during intercourse. Surprisingly though, it is way more common than you think. Many people admit their stomach hurts after sex.
It is estimated that 75 percent of women experience abdominal pain during sex at some point in their life. If you find that you are experiencing abdominal pain during or after intercourse, there might be some underlying factors that are occurring, and you should discuss it with your doctor.
Let’s get into some of the possible reasons your stomach hurts after sex.
Physical Issues
Sometimes it’s as simple as not having enough lubrication or sufficient foreplay. Proper lubrication is essential in order to prevent pelvic pain or potential tearing and damage to the vaginal area. Foreplay triggers the vagina too secrete lubricating fluid to prepare for penetration. At a certain age though, the vagina may stop being able to produce this lubrication, and you can either turn to lubrication gels or visit your doctor and get started on hormone therapy to counteract the results of menopause.
Inflammation or Infections
If you have itching, burning, or pain in your vaginal area, this could be a result of an infection or inflammation of the vaginal tissue. Often times, what leads to such infections is the use of vaginal cleaning products such a douche. Even though they are marketed to be helpful in cleaning the vagina, you must remember that the vagina is self-cleaning, and you don’t need the products or the chemicals in them.
Yeast infections and urinary tract infections can also leave the vaginal tissue feeling quite dry and raw. Medication can help, but be sure that if you have any toys that you use, to keep them clean and sanitized.
Medical Conditions
There could be many reasons your stomach hurts after sex, but one of the most common are underlying medical conditions.
Medical conditions like fibroids or endometriosis can make sex extremely painful. The reason for this is the fact that they either spread or grow larger over time, which increases the pressure on your internal organs. Therefore, when penetration occurs, it adds even more pressure, which can be quite painful.
Constipation is also another condition that can cause pain during sex as the bowels and bladder are very close to one another.
Lack of Access
If you or someone you know is a part of the LGBTQ+ community and have had a bottom surgery, you want to make sure that you are knowledgeable of how to care for your new private area. If ever you feel discomfort, you should reach out immediately to a trusted doctor that is knowledgeable in bottom surgeries and how the new private area works as there may be differences in how biological women care for their intimate areas.
If your stomach hurts after sex, or you feel any vaginal discomfort and don’t know a reputable doctor, reach out to your fellow community members and see who they go to, or discuss with them how they handle their problems.
Emotional Trauma
The brain is a powerful mechanism, and when someone has experienced trauma, it can convince them that the pain they are experiencing is physical. A lot of times a person who has been sexually abused or experienced a trauma like a relationship betrayal will come to a doctor with a host of problems, but there will be no physical aspects found. When this occurs, it is so important that the individual seek out counseling to allow them to work through and process the trauma in a healthy way, so that their brain is able to heal and they can go on to live a normal life.
Whatever the cause for vaginal or abdominal may be, it is important to reach out and get help. You never know what the underlying cause is, and it is not something that you should ignore.